Clinton suffers concussion after fainting

WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Hillary Clinton suffered a concussion early last week after fainting, the State Department disclosed Saturday.

The fainting episode occurred after Clinton had become dehydrated because of a stomach virus, according to a statement released by Philippe Reines, a close adviser to Clinton. The statement did not disclose the severity of the concussion, nor did it say what day it occurred or why the State Department delayed disclosing the injury.

The statement said Clinton was recovering at home, adding that she would follow the advice of doctors and work from home for the next week.

Clinton will not testify as scheduled before a Senate committee investigating the attack on the U.S. diplomatic outpost in Benghazi, Libya, in September.

Last week, Clinton, who has been discussed as a possible presidential candidate in 2016, canceled a planned trip to Morocco, where she was to meet with leaders of Syria's opposition. She also planned to visit Tunisia and the United Arab Emirates.

Throughout the past week, State Department officials gave a mixed picture about the severity of Clinton's illness. On Wednesday, a State Department spokeswoman, Victoria Nuland, described Clinton as having a “very uncomfortable stomach virus” but did not mention a concussion. The next day, Nuland said Clinton was “under the weather.”

Nuland did say Clinton's illness had prevented her from making any calls to foreign leaders.